# Discourse

> Scans HN, Lobsters, Reddit, and tech blogs for community experience reports. Use when gathering practitioner opinions on a technology or approach.

- Skill: `thedixitjain/discourse` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add thedixitjain/discourse`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/thedixitjain/discourse/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: thedixitjain (https://skillmd.com/u/thedixitjain)
- Updated: 2026-09-08
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/thedixitjain/discourse

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# Discourse Search

## When To Use

- Gathering community opinions on a technology or approach
- Finding experience reports from HN, Reddit, or Lobsters

## When NOT To Use

- Academic research (use `/tome:papers`)
- Code examples (use `/tome:code-search`)

Scan community channels for discussions on a topic.

## Channels

- **Hacker News**: Algolia API at hn.algolia.com
- **Lobsters**: WebSearch with site:lobste.rs
- **Reddit**: JSON API (append .json to URLs)
- **Tech blogs**: WebSearch targeting curated domains

## Workflow

1. Build search URLs/queries per channel using
   `tome.channels.discourse.*` functions
2. Execute via WebFetch (APIs) or WebSearch (fallback)
3. Parse responses into Finding objects
4. Merge across sources with source attribution

## Exit Criteria

- [ ] At least two community channels (HN, Lobsters, Reddit, or
      tech blogs) queried per invocation
- [ ] HN results fetched via Algolia API at `hn.algolia.com`
      (WebFetch); WebSearch used as fallback if the API is
      unreachable
- [ ] Each Finding object includes a `source` field identifying
      which channel (HN, Lobsters, Reddit, or blog) it came from
- [ ] If all WebFetch and WebSearch calls fail for every channel,
      the failure is reported explicitly rather than returning
      fabricated or empty findings

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**Source:** [`athola/claude-night-market`](https://github.com/athola/claude-night-market) → `plugins/tome/skills/discourse/SKILL.md`